THE BERGAMOT ] 41 



THE BERGAMOT. 

 (Citrus Beroamia, Risso). 



The foliage and the blossoms of the Bergamots are 

 similar to those of the orange, but have a fragrance of 

 their own. The flowers are white as in the orange and 

 lime. The fruit has a persistent navel more or less 

 marked. The peel is yellow, or chrome yellow, with a 

 powerful and characteristic fragrance. The bergamots 

 may be said to have the habit, the foliage and the 

 flowers of the orange, and the appearance of the fruit 

 and its peel is that of the lime, but the strong and 

 grateful fragrance is their own. The pulp is devoid of 

 acidity, but is intensely bitter. The peel is also much 

 more bitter than that of the bitter orange. Bergamots 

 are cultivated on a large scale in Calabria for the sake of 

 the valuable essential oil which is obtained by pressure 

 from the peel. In our gardens they are grown chiefly as 

 a curiosity, but the peel is often candied, and is much 

 used as a flavouring ingredient by confectioners and in 

 household economy. The following bergamots are grown 



in our. gardens. 



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i. The COMMON BERGAMOT (h\.bergamotta). The 

 tree attains the size of an orange tree and is very 

 productive. The fruit is of the size of an orange, round 

 or slightly oval at the stalk-end. The navel consists 

 of the persistent column or style of the pistil, without 

 any thickening at its base. The peel is yellow at 

 maturity. A form still more productive, but bearing 

 smaller fruits is also cultivated. There is also another form 

 bearing variegated fruits, the peel having longitudinal 

 white or greenish white streaks, which become deep 

 chrome yellow at maturity. For the extraction of essence, 

 as well as for candying, the fruit is picked when it has 

 reached full size, but has not yet turned yellow. A 

 seedling variety at San Antonio Gardens has oval or 

 pear-shaped fruits. 



